Chapter 106
Chapter 106
The warm taste of Ruan’s mouth invaded Chloe’s lips. Her heart leaped so fast that she completely forgot to breathe. Her body refused to respond to anything apart from the raw desire to stay wrapped in Ruan's arms—until she remembered the scene she had witnessed that morning.
She understood why Ruan had comforted Megan; after all, the house was burning down with Josephine trapped inside the flames. However, that wasn't enough to make her forget everything.
Chloe shoved him away. She raised her arms and slapped him across the face. Ruan cupped his cheek as tears instantly rushed down Chloe's face. She immediately regretted what she had just done.
She parted her lips to say she was sorry, but then he slowly turned his head to look at her. He didn't show any hatred or resentment; his expression looked entirely different from anything she had ever seen on his face before.
“I don't want you to touch me ever again,” she said, her voice cracking with every word. “I saw you with Megan. I saw you holding her. So if you decided to forgive her, you should clear out of this house and never look back.”
“What are you talking about?” He knitted his brows. Not even the slap made him back down, and Ruan stepped dangerously close again. “Why on earth do you think Megan and I would get back together?”
“Because you love her,” Chloe countered, turning away as a bitter smile tugged at half her face before she covered it. “You’ve always loved her. Not even the years we spent married changed that.”
“Why do you assume it didn't change?”
“What?” She whirled around suddenly, gasping when she found him way too close—so close she could actually hear his breathing. “What kind of stupid question is that?”
Ruan raised his hand, his fingers brushing against her hair. Chloe flinched, her forehead wrinkling. She wanted to slap his hand away as far as possible, but the intense glow in his eyes kept her completely frozen.
“I need you to know something, Chloe,” he said, his breathing irregular as he stared down at her, unable to break eye contact for even a split second. “I used to be infatuated with Megan, and at one point, that feeling was real. I loved her a lot before I discovered who she truly was.”
Chloe held her breath. What did he mean by that? Something felt entirely different about Ruan—the way he spoke, the way he had been acting around her lately. The change was right there, but Chloe couldn't quite put it into words.
“I felt so guilty for leaving her, for sleeping with her sister right before our wedding. I carried that heavy guilt for all these years, and I dumped the weight of my frustrations directly onto you.”
“What exactly are you trying to justify…”
“That I wanted to stay with her out of guilt, not love.” He lowered his hand but didn't back away. Chloe searched his face, which still looked flushed from her slap. “You have no idea how I felt when you asked for a divorce. You don't know because I never told you how much watching you walk away from me destroyed my world. That was the exact moment I realized I didn't want to lose you.”
Chloe laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound; it was full of pure disbelief and mockery. As far as she was concerned, Ruan couldn't possibly be serious.
“And yet you still went straight back to Megan? You brought her to live in our house. Was that how you planned on not losing me?”
“I was confused, completely consumed by guilt,” Ruan explained, but Chloe took a step back; everything spilling from his lips felt like a massive lie. “I truly believed I owed her that much.”
Chloe covered her lips, her chest burning as if she had just taken a brutal, merciless blow. She fought back her tears, refusing to break down right in front of him. She loved him so much it physically ached, but she didn't want him to know. Ruan didn't deserve to know about that love, and his words only worsened the absolute chaos inside her.
She would rather not listen to him anymore. She couldn't take it. Not only that, but she lunged past him as if he were just a physical roadblock, trying to escape him and the turbulent feelings he stirred up inside her. But he caught her again and pulled her back, slamming her body against his once more.
“I’m not done talking,” he said, forcing himself to fight against her. Chloe tried to push him away, but it was useless; Ruan only gripped her tighter.
“I would rather not hear you, I would rather not see you, and I'm not concerned about your regrets!” She didn't even notice the tears falling; she completely broke down in front of him without realizing it. “I hate you, Ruan! I hate that I fell in love with you and believed that you would actually love me back one day. All that pain just to hear you say you owed it to Megan?”
“I love you, Chloe,” he said, catching her head and forcing her to look him in the eyes. “That's what I've been trying to tell you. I’ve loved you for so long I can't even remember when it started, but I suffocated that feeling with my guilt. I’m not with Megan. Not only that, but I didn't give her another chance because the only woman I want right now is you.”
Another tear spilled over, but this time it came from Ruan’s eyes. A heavy silence mixed with his anxious breathing. Perhaps he sensed what was about to happen—he certainly saw it in Chloe's eyes. She shoved him away again. He didn't fight her this time; he simply let his body stumble backward, clearing a path for her to escape him once more.
Chloe looked at him one last time, her breath shallow, all words quickly vanishing from her mind.
“I moved up my departure for Stanford. Chris and I are leaving next week,” she said, wiping her face. “You fought for years to get rid of me, Ruan. Well, you finally succeeded.”
“No, Chloe,” he pleaded, watching her walk right past him. “That wasn't what I wanted.”
She didn't listen to a single word. Chloe stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut, leaving Ruan completely alone and utterly lost, tortured by the weight of her words.